CRADLED in its mother’s arms, this adorable baby gorilla has cemented a leading British wildlife sanctuary’s reputation for saving endangered apes.

The youngster is the 139th western lowland gorilla to be born at Howletts Wild Animal Park in Kent, which has become a major driving force behind preserving one of the planet’s most iconic but threatened creatures.

To date, more than 80 gorillas have been returned to the tropical forests of Congo and Gabon by the Aspinall Foundation, which works closely with the Kent wildlife park.

Besides rescuing and rehabilitating orphaned gorillas in Africa as well as protecting a million acres of wilderness, the foundation also successfully habituates gorillas born at Howletts.

These scenes show the so far un-named baby in the arms of its mother Dihi, who has had four previous births.

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Lorna Wanless, head of gorilla section at Howletts, said: “Dihi is a lovely gorilla and an experienced mother.

“Both Dihi and her baby are doing very well.

“Although silverbacks tend not to get physically involved in raising their young, it’s great to see the father, Ebeki, taking an interest in the little one from a distance and being naturally protective of both mother and baby.”

Perhaps one day the new baby will help bolster its species’ numbers in the rainforests of West Africa where as few as 50,000 remain at large.

Adrian Harland, Howletts’ animal director, explained: “Western lowland gorillas are one of the species that we are best known for and we are justly proud of our breeding programme.

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17-year-old western lowland silverback gorilla, Harambe who was shot after a four-year-old boy fell 15 feet into his enclosure at the Cincinnati Zoo Gorilla World exhibit.

“As well as caring for gorillas at our parks, we also work closely with the Aspinall Foundation to protect them in the wild, and where possible, reintroduce gorillas born at the parks back into their natural environment.”

Damian Aspinall, chairman of the foundation, continued: “Habituating captive born animals back into the wild is vitally important, and it’s what we at the Aspinall Foundation are dedicated to achieving.

“It’s not just what we are doing with gorillas but because we protect the gorillas, we protect the whole forest and by protecting the whole forest, we protect the whole ecosystem.

“So, doing one incredibly difficult thing – introducing gorillas back into the wild – has a knock-on effect, so it’s vitally important.”